Texas synagogue hostage-taker said he ‘prayed two years’ for attack — reports

LONDON — A British man who took hostages at a Texas synagogue told his family he had prayed for two years to carry out the attack, media report today, as police make two arrests.

Malik Faisal Akram, 44, from Blackburn in northwest England, was shot dead by the FBI during a 10-hour siege in the small town of Colleyville last Saturday.

His four hostages, including a rabbi, were all freed unharmed.

The London-based Jewish Chronicle publishes on its website what it says is a recording of Akram’s last phone call with his brother back home, where he outlined his aims.

Akram tells his brother, Gulbar, during the siege, “I’ve come to die,” adding that he wants to “go down as a martyr” and is “bombed up” with “every ammunition.”

His brother urges him to give himself up.

The BBC says experts believe the call is genuine.

Suggesting the attack was long-planned, Akram says: “I’ve prayed to Allah for two years for this… I’m coming back home in a body bag.”

The recording raises further questions about the thoroughness of a recent investigation into Akram by British security services.

Media reports have said Akram was investigated in 2020 by Britain’s domestic security agency MI5 after he spent six months in Pakistan. But the probe was shut down after just over a month due to lack of evidence that he was a threat, and he was able to travel to the United States without being flagged as a risk.

British counter-terrorism police meanwhile say today they are questioning two men after early-morning arrests as part of an investigation into the incident.